Heart attack is one of the most common diseases that usually leads to sudden deaths, especially in India. As even the reports suggest that people in India usually are subjected to heart attacks 10 years earlier than any other country due to the bad and unhealthy lifestyle.
Heart attacks are not as sudden as they seem, instead, heart attacks are usually the consequence of many minor attacks that are ignored by us. Sometimes they can be sudden too but there will definitely be an underlying cause. There are always some symptoms shown by our body to let us know that the condition of our heart is deteriorating but the symptoms of heart attacks or heart diseases are so common that even at the time of heart attack people usually ignore them, thinking they are just a gastric or common pain, hence failing to consult their doctor on time.
This ignorance usually results in fatal accidents causing our body and heart irreversible damage. Due to the lack of awareness, even the family members of victims fail to realize the importance of the first hour after heart attacks and usually send the victims to the hospital after the rescue hour is long gone and the damage has become irreversible.
In this article, we will try to throw some light on why the First Hour After Heart Attack is called the Golden Hour. It is extremely crucial if you want to save your loved one’s life.
Let’s know why the first hour after the heart attack is so important
It is often a common mindset of people that people can’t be saved after a heart attack but actually, this isn’t true. It totally depends on the treatment given to a patient during the golden hour that is the first hour of a heart attack. If the person is provided to the right treatment during this period, then there are chances that their life can be saved easily.
The first 60-90 minutes after a heart attack is important because after an hour, due to lack of flow of blood the muscles near the heart or heart muscles start deteriorating and after 6 hours this damage becomes irreversible as most parts of the heart die after these 6 hours.
This is why it is really important to take the victim to the hospital within 60 minutes of heart attacks as it gives the doctors enough time to do all the tests and check-ups required and decide what’s best for the victim to save their lives.
Not only in case of serious heart attacks but even in the case of any normal chest pain it is important for us to consult a doctor immediately. A lot of times the heart attacks are silent causing common symptoms such as slight chest pain, dizziness, or slight shoulder pain, etc. confusing us to think that it is nothing more than gastric pain. But we need to know that instead of just a normal gastric pain this can be a minor heart attack or in a worse scenario a silent major heart attack too.
Here are the symptoms to look out for:
- Consuming sensation and discomfort over the chest even in the rest along with anxiety, sweat, pain in the jaw, back, or left arm.
- Pain in the abdomen, persistent vomiting along with heartburn might look like just a gastric problem but they can be a symptom of a heart attack.
- In the case of diabetes breathlessness without any pain in the chest can be a symptom of heart attack too.
What can you do to be prepared for such conditions?
- Always have 300/325mg aspirin tablets stocked up in your first aid kit as chewing aspirin at the time of heart attack, it helps to unclog the arteries causing heart attacks.
- Always keep the numbers of your nearest hospitals saved on your mobile. It will not only help you in the case of heart attacks but also in case of any medical emergencies. Meanwhile, you can train your family friends to also search for a Cardiologist Near me on their phones and reach the nearest heart clinic where your near and dear ones can get adequate treatment.
- Make sure you always look out for the above symptoms and never take them lightly especially if your family has any history related to heart diseases.
- If your family has a person with diabetes or hypertension then you especially need to take care of them as heart diseases are usually accompanied by such diseases.
Meanwhile, you can also get a cardiac check up once in a year to know your heart health and the way forward.
Here’s what you can do to prevent heart disease:
As the old saying goes “Prevention is better than cure”, it is always better to keep a check on your health and live a healthy lifestyle from the start, instead of regretting it when it causes you some serious health issues.
So, here are some tips for you that you can adopt for a healthier and longer life:
- Even if you have too much work to do, make sure you always take out time for yourself and go for a walk or do any physical activity during that time, instead of sitting all day on your chair. A minimum of 30 minutes per day keeps you healthy.
- Adopt a healthy diet and try to cut out on saturated and trans fats and salt intake.
- Make sure to always have a regular body checkup at the interval of every few months.
- Always keep your blood pressure, sugar levels, and cholesterol levels in check.
- Keep your body in shape and stay away from obesity.
- Stay away from unhealthy habits such as smoking, drinking, etc.
- Immediately contact your doctor if you feel any unexplainable pain in your body.
Hope, these tips help you to adopt a better lifestyle and save you from any major heart diseases.
In case of any heart-related emergency, you can reach out to me via call or WhatsApp me on +91-9902147888.